Gazimagusa

Started this morning with a visit to Salamis quite near to our hotel. A restored Roman settlement adorned with Corinthian columns, a theatre and the usual gymnasium, baths and latrines.

It was another glorious start to the day with a gentle breeze. Nearby is the church of St Barnabus who came from Cyprus and is buried in the small chapel here, the rest of the church being an Orthodox icon museum.

Lunch and most of the afternoon we spent in the walled Venetian town of Gazimagusa better known as Famagusta.
It was originally built in the Bizantine era but reinforced by the Venetians who ruled from 1489 before the coming of the Ottomans in 1571.
The Cathedral of St Mark is the burial place of Venetian kings but of course is now a mosque. There are also remains of the Venetian palace in the centre of the town.

We were recommended a wonderful pastry shop where I managed to restrain my self as we had just eaten chicken shish but I did buy some pistachio locum (Turkish delight) to enjoy later.

In the picture you can see the steps up to the walls and just above the sign on the right of the picture you can see the head of the Lion of St Mark. Other parts of the wall have images of him too (probably relatively recent). He gets about as he was adorning the walls of Kotor last year too when we visited Croatia and Montenegro.

Before we left we drove around Varosha the ghost town of what was the jet set resort in the late '60s and early '70 s. The place has been left derelict behind barbed wire since the war and subsequent partition of 1974. It is in the possession of the United Nations now until an agreement can be made more than 40 years later. If you have read Victoria Hislop's The Sunrise you will know all about this.

Over the mountains now for 4 nights on the North coast near Kyrenia. Mountains to one side and sea to the other.
A very interesting and pleasant day.